Wall panel for an appliance

Abstract

A refrigerator includes a cabinet with a plurality of walls and a compartment area for storing food within the cabinet. A door is configured to seal the compartment area. A refrigeration component is disposed within the cabinet. A wall panel is positioned within the cabinet and includes a three-dimensional molded surface with non-uniformly spaced peaks and valleys and a lighting structure. The wall panel extends from a lower end of the compartment area to an upper end of the compartment area. The wall panel separates the compartment area from the refrigeration component and is coextensive with one of the plurality of walls of the cabinet.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A refrigerator, comprising:
 a cabinet including a back wall partially defining a compartment;   a door operably coupled to the cabinet and configured to seal the compartment;   a plurality of wall panels operably coupled to the cabinet, wherein each wall panel of the plurality of wall panels includes a first side and a second side, wherein at least one wall panel of the plurality of wall panels is disposed adjacent to the back wall and includes a three-dimensional design on the first side thereof, the three-dimensional design including a wave pattern;   an air vent disposed on the back wall of the cabinet to move air within the compartment; and   a lighting structure operably coupled to the at least one wall panel of the plurality of wall panels to provide light to the compartment.   
     
     
         2 . The refrigerator of  claim 1 , wherein the first side of each wall panel faces the compartment and the second side of each wall panel faces the cabinet. 
     
     
         3 . The refrigerator of  claim 2 , wherein the at least one wall panel of the plurality of wall panels includes the three-dimensional design on the second side thereof facing the cabinet. 
     
     
         4 . The refrigerator of  claim 1 , wherein the second side of the at least one wall panel of the plurality of wall panels includes a flat surface positioned adjacent to the back wall of the cabinet. 
     
     
         5 . The refrigerator of  claim 1 , wherein the at least one wall panel of the plurality of wall panels extends a full height and a full width of the back wall of the cabinet. 
     
     
         6 . The refrigerator of  claim 1 , wherein the three-dimensional design includes spaced peaks and valleys to form the wave pattern. 
     
     
         7 . The refrigerator of  claim 1 , wherein the compartment includes compartment storage structures, and wherein the plurality of wall panels extend between the cabinet and the compartment storage structures. 
     
     
         8 . The refrigerator of  claim 7 , wherein the compartment storage structures are secured to the cabinet independently of the plurality of wall panels via compartment mounting structures. 
     
     
         9 . The refrigerator of  claim 1 , wherein the lighting structure is disposed adjacent to an edge of the at least one wall panel of the plurality of wall panels. 
     
     
         10 . The refrigerator of  claim 1 , wherein the at least one wall panel of the plurality of wall panels is at least partially opaque. 
     
     
         11 . A refrigeration appliance, comprising:
 a cabinet including a plurality of walls defining a compartment;   a door operably coupled to the cabinet configured to seal the compartment;   a plurality of wall panels operably coupled to the cabinet, wherein each wall panel of the plurality of wall panels includes a first side facing the compartment and a second side facing the cabinet, and wherein the first side of at least one wall panel of the plurality of wall panels includes a three-dimensional design and the second side is a flat surface; and   a lighting structure operably coupled to an edge of the at least one wall panel of the plurality of wall panels to provide light to the compartment.   
     
     
         12 . The refrigeration appliance of  claim 11 , further comprising:
 at least one refrigeration component coupled with at least one of the plurality of walls of the cabinet, and wherein the at least one refrigeration component is disposed between the cabinet and the second side of the at least one wall panel of the plurality of wall panels for the at least one wall panel of the plurality of wall panels to conceal the at least one refrigeration component.   
     
     
         13 . The refrigeration appliance of  claim 12 , wherein the at least one refrigeration component includes an air vent disposed along the at least one of the plurality of walls of the cabinet to move air within the compartment. 
     
     
         14 . The refrigeration appliance of  claim 11 , wherein the plurality of walls form a bottom surface, a back surface, a top surface, and a pair of side surfaces of the compartment, and wherein the plurality of wall panels extends from the bottom surface to the top surface to extend a full height of the compartment, and wherein the at least one wall panel of the plurality of wall panels extend between the pair of side surfaces to extend a full width of the back surface of the compartment. 
     
     
         15 . The refrigeration appliance of  claim 14 , wherein at least one wall panel of the plurality of wall panels includes a reflective surface. 
     
     
         16 . The refrigeration appliance of  claim 14 , wherein the three-dimensional design defines a wave pattern. 
     
     
         17 . An appliance, comprising:
 a cabinet defining a compartment;   a door operably coupled to the cabinet configured to seal the compartment;   a wall panel assembly operably coupled to the cabinet within the compartment, wherein the wall panel assembly includes:
 a plurality of wall panels operably coupled to the cabinet, wherein each of the plurality of wall panels includes a first side facing the compartment and a second side facing the cabinet; and 
 a lighting structure configured to light the compartment; and 
   a three-dimensional pattern on the first side of at least one wall panel of the plurality of wall panels.   
     
     
         18 . The appliance of  claim 17 , further comprising:
 a controller configured to activate the lighting structure, wherein the controller is configured to adjust the lighting structure between different conditions based on a user interaction.   
     
     
         19 . The appliance of  claim 18 , wherein the controller is coupled to a door ajar detection system configured to detect when the door is in an open position or a closed position, and wherein the user interaction includes adjusting the door to the open position. 
     
     
         20 . The appliance of  claim 18 , wherein the three-dimensional pattern is a wave pattern of peaks and valleys.